After playing 10 sets in a double header to open the season, the LCC volleyball team wasn't exactly pleased in the split.
The Lady Lancers started the 2013 season with a win and a loss after Johnson-Wales University defeated LCC, 3-2, while LCC beat Surry Community College, 3-2, Saturday at home.
After Johsnon-Wales downed SCC while the Lady Lancers broke, it seemed a SCC victory was a shoo-in -- but the Warriors gave the home team a run.
LCC won the first two sets against SCC, and the match came down to a decisive Game 5. Although they escaped with a 3-2 win (25-14, 25-18, 19-25, 21-25, 15-12) there was melancholy in the air as the game ended.
"I think we're just tired, it's been a long day," said outside hitter Elaina Price, one of only two returners. "I don't think we did the best we were able to do. Our passing was kind of sloppy and a lot of us wanted to tip when we had an opportunity to actually hit the ball hard."
She said she was glad the young team pulled together to "finish strong."
"We're going to have to work on ball control and where we're going to hit the ball," Price said.
Assistant coach David Barnes said the Lady Lancers should have beaten Johnson-Wales in the first match, but bad touches and defensive placement gave the game away.
"We worked tremendously hard on ball control and we worked tremendously hard on where to be on defense, and there's just so many times we're still not in the right defensive spots and allowing balls to fall," he said. "(Those are) easy plays if you're in the right spot. So we're turning easy plays into difficult plays…"
LCC trailed SCC by as many as 10 points when they were up 2-0 in the third set. Key hitters Price and freshman middle blocker Essence Perry were benched to rest up for Game 4. Perry had a strong start in the first two sets.
"Essence is highly capable of being a humongous contributor to this team," Barnes said. "Right now, we know that she has the ability. It's is just staying focused on every touch of every point and staying physically ready on every point."
Barnes said LCC must play each point with the mind of champions. He comes off 11 years of coaching a winning program at Scotland High School.
"We've got to practice like champions and we've got to come out and play like champions," he said.
Barnes said the Lady Lancers played up to par in their winning sets against SCC Saturday but fell off toward the end. LCC will go back to practice and work out logistic and communication glitches the team experienced in the season openers.
" When five and six of us start taking breaks at different times, then there's a breakdown on the court," Barnes said. "We can't do things like that because we're not good enough to make up those points once we give them away. We're giving too many away right now, and that's why we went five sets today."
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.